Burma bill in US House vital step to face abuses– Refugees Int’l

Rohingya houses burning in 2017

Refugees International Senior Advocate for Human Rights Daniel Sullivan in a statement on Tuesday welcomed the Burma Bill introduced in the US House of Representatives and termed it a vital step towards confronting the Myanmar military.

“The introduction of the BURMA Act is a vital step toward confronting the Myanmar military’s atrocities and one of the most egregious attacks on democracy in recent history. It is both an important signal of solidarity with those who have suffered under Myanmar’s military junta and a warning to that junta that it will be held accountable for its actions.  

The Act puts forth concrete actions to counter the abuses of Myanmar’s military including authorizing further sanctions and life-saving aid. It also requires an official atrocity determination in the case of the Rohingya.

More than four years since the junta’s brutal attacks on the Rohingya and several months since Secretary Blinken committed to an atrocity determination review, the United States is yet to call those attacks what they truly are: crimes against humanity and genocide. The Burma Act would require such a review to be completed within 90 days of passage. 

The Burma Act would also enable a stronger response to the military coup carried out on February 1st and mobilize much needed humanitarian assistance to the more than 200,000 people forcibly displaced as a result of the coup.

Refugees International thanks House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Meeks and Asia-Pacific Subcommittee Ranking Member Chabot and Senator Cardin for their leadership, as well as all cosponsors of the legislation. We join the many people in Myanmar and those forcibly displaced from their country in supporting the Burma Act and urging its swift passage into law.” – Press release